Forever and Always
by Penelope Louise
Summary: Fifteen years ago, something happened between Jane and Lisbon. While on a case, Lisbon finds herself in the midst of a dysfunctional reunion.
1. Kidnapped

_**A/N: An idea that ties in with the Jello Forever January challenge: New Beginnings. Starring dizzy – in – the – izzy and, uh, me actually. But we're not as ourselves. I used our names... and that's about it. Enjoy!**_

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Lisbon knocked on her daughter's bedroom door.

"Louise! Wake up!"

Lisbon pushed open the door just as Louise pulled a pillow over her head.

"Go away, mom," Louise mumbled and yelped as Lisbon pulled the covers off the bed.

"Up!" Lisbon exclaimed again, and Louise sat up, groaning. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood up carefully, yawning.

"You are not a drill instructor and I am not your soldier!" Louise called back to her mom as she headed for her en-suite bathroom and closed the door behind her.

"If you don't get your lazy ass in gear you will have a drill instructor at boot camp!"

Lisbon threatened her daughter, with a smile on her face. She didn't mean it; she never did. The bathroom door opened and Louise glared at her mom, water dripping from her face.

"Let's not go there," she shut the door again and Lisbon chuckled.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Lisbon called, sitting on the end of Louise's bed and picking up a photo frame which contained a photograph of her and her daughter on the beach last summer. Louise's long wavy brown hair was tousled from the wind and her face tanned from the sun, compared to Lisbon's relative paleness. Lisbon sighed. She could see him in Louise. The smile, the wavy hair, the retorts… and he wasn't even around to see her.

_Bastard._

"Bagels! With cream cheese!" Louise's voice broke through her mother's reverie, startling her slightly. "The garlic and herb one, not the disgusting chive one."

Lisbon shook her head, smiling and walked out of her daughter's room to go and make breakfast.

Louise soon arrived in the kitchen, dressed in grey leggings and a long fake-ripped top, her hair still damp from the shower. Lisbon eyed her daughter's dress sense warily, simply thinking: teenagers. Lisbon walked over and put a plate in front of Louise, with a cream cheese covered bagel in the centre. Louise smiled.

"I used chive cream cheese," Lisbon teased.

"MOM!" Louise exclaimed, and Lisbon burst and laughing.

"Just kidding," she tousled the fifteen year old girl's hair affectionately and Louise batted her hand away and patted her hair back down irritably.

Lisbon still worked with the CBI: she still worked with Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt and was head of the team. It was just the four of them now. Consultants were not permitted in their CBI team. Lisbon didn't get to work quite as early as she used to, and was on call less. Cho headed the team when Lisbon wasn't around, and it was a system that worked for everyone.

Louise put her plate in the dishwasher and closed the door while she watched her mom get ready for work.

Badge? Check. Taser? Check. Holster? Check. Gun in holster? Check.

She had tried to get Lisbon to give her a gun for her fifteenth birthday, but to no avail. Her mother had informed her that she could wait until she was 18, when she could be trained properly on a firing range. Louise had retorted that Uncle Cho had instructed her on the firing range, and that she was perfectly competent, but the age barrier still stuck at eighteen, and no complaining or bribery would move it.

Louise pulled on her coat and slipped her feet into black ballet pumps as Lisbon grabbed her briefcase and hurried to the door. They were late. As usual. Louise picked up her school bag as she walked out of the front door, closing it behind her.

"Hurry up!" Lisbon exclaimed as her daughter walked slowly to the car.

"Why? I have triple German first thing," Louise complained and Lisbon shook her head in exasperation.

"You took the option," she reminded Louise who rolled her eyes.

"And now I realize that German, French _and _Spanish was not the best idea, since German is tedious and the new French teacher is horrible!" Louise replied, opening the passenger door and getting in.

"Look on the bright side," Lisbon attempted.

"What bright side?" Louise answered wryly.

"The Spanish teacher's cute," Lisbon grinned as Louise punched her lightly on the arm.

"Mom!"

Lisbon arrived on time at the CBI after dropping Louise off at her school and walked into her office. She had just laid her black briefcase on her desk and was removing her case when the door opened.

"Boss?" Rigsby looked in. Lisbon waited for him to expand on his one word greeting. "We just got a call. Suspected kidnapping, Petaluma."

Lisbon put her coat back on and followed him out of her office and headed towards the elevator, catching the car keys from Cho as she passed the bullpen.

Cho sat shotgun: he always did now; there were no arguments or discussions about that. It happened.

"A fifteen year old girl has gone AWOL from her school, St. Vincent de Paul's. She was in the eleventh grade; she was moved up a year. Cheerleader. Popular." Van Pelt informed the others in minimal words.

"Name?" Lisbon asked while keeping her eyes on the road.

"Isabel de Longoria," Van Pelt answered. "She was adopted: closed adoption. The local sheriff suspects that it could be her biological parent or parents involved."

"She couldn't have just… run away?" Lisbon asked. This girl, Isabel, was the same age as Louise. The same grade. Both cheerleaders. The similarity was worrying.

"They don't think so. She was happy, apparently. Well, according to parents, anyway. They left talking to her friends to us," Van Pelt smiled dryly. She hated talking to preppy cheerleaders: half of them seemed to be airheads who thought they could do her job better than she could.

"Van Pelt, Rigsby, you talk to the friends. Cho's with me, we'll speak to the parents," Lisbon instructed.

Van Pelt walked down the school corridor with Rigsby next to her.

"I really think this case is going to get to the Boss," Van Pelt said intuitively. Rigsby looked slightly confused.

"Why?" he asked.

"Louise is the same age, the same grade," Grace replied. She stopped suddenly, and Rigsby walked straight into her. "Oh, my."

Rigsby followed Grace's gaze to a poster on the wall.

**Have you seen this girl?**

That wasn't amazingly shocking, but the picture below was.

"They could be sisters," Van Pelt breathed.

"They're a spitting image," Rigsby agreed.

Isabel's hair was shorter – only shoulder length – and her eyes were blue, not brown and her face was a little rounder but apart from that, Isabel and Louise were almost identical.

"That's freaky," Rigsby broke the stunned silence.

"Excuse me?" They both turned around to come face to face with a petite blond girl. "Are you the police? About Izzy?"

Rigsby and Van Pelt exchanged glances. "Yes, we are," Grace replied and as she did three girls in cheerleading uniforms ran up to them.

"Are you the police? Have you found her? Is she alive?" They interrupted each other in their haste to ask about Isabel.

"We would like to ask her friends a few questions, actually," Rigsby explained.

"Well, that would be us," a tall girl with peroxide blond hair flipped her hair over her shoulder promiscuously, and smiled at Rigsby, missing the icy glare that Van Pelt shot in the cheerleader's direction.

"Could you show us the way to the principal's office then?" Rigsby asked, not noticing the flirty smiles from the girl, or the death glares that Van Pelt sent them back.

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A/N: Feedback is much appreciated! Thank you!**_


	2. Coincidence

_**A/N: Thank you all for reviewing the first chapter! I'm so glad you seem to be interested. Feliz Año Nuevo, or Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

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"Do you have any idea who would have done this to your daughter?" Lisbon asked the parents. Mrs de Longoria's face was streaked with tears and Mr. de Longoria – obviously the Hispanic one – was continually patting her hand gently.

"That boy she was dating," Mrs de Longoria, or Alison as she had told Lisbon to call her, spoke vehemently. Lisbon kept her expression impassive and flipped open her notepad.

"What is his name?" she asked.

"Anthony O'Neill," Santiago de Longoria answered her before turning to his distraught wife. "I don't think he would have done this, Ali."

"He was too old for her! A bad influence," the woman replied stubbornly before talking once again to Lisbon and Cho. "He was 18, a high school dropout. I bet he was taking drugs too."

Santiago rolled his eyes at his wife's exaggeration. "He was returning to school, he was trying to turn his life around. He wanted to be an actor, which was why he dropped out of school, but he decided he wanted to get qualifications as well. In the end."

Lisbon nodded understandingly. She wasn't warming much to Alison de Longoria's attitude to her daughter's boyfriend, but the girl's father seemed much less strict about it. It was how she had always treated Louise.

She trusted her daughter; she trusted her to do the right thing as much as she could. She would admonish for mistakes, but forgive after a sensible length of time. Everyone made mistakes, and shouldn't have to spend their whole life paying for them.

She knew that.

Personal experience was sometimes an absolute blessing.

"Did Isabel receive any… bad new recently?" Lisbon approached the subject with care.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Isabel's mother snapped back rather hastily in Lisbon's opinion. Alison's voice rose to a shrill crescendo. "My daughter has been kidnapped!"

Lisbon sighed inaudibly, and luckily Cho stepped in. "We have to cover every possibility," he reminded the parents. Alison de Longoria stood up.

"I don't believe this, your attitudes are appalling! I am going to get some real agents to find my daughter. Police who know what they're doing!" Alison flounced from the room, and Cho and Lisbon stayed impassive, but Cho could see the edges of Lisbon's mouth were twitching. He had to admit, Alison de Longoria was a drama queen and despite the seriousness of the situation it was slightly humorous.

Santiago looked quite the part of the stressed husband. "I apologize for my wife; she has a habit of getting a little… a little…" he thought for a moment. "Overly dramatic."

"You don't need to apologize," Lisbon smiled at him. "It must be a horrible situation to be in; I know I would be distraught if something like this happened to my daughter."

Cho patted her hand inconspicuously so Santiago didn't see. He still felt sorry for Lisbon: she had been through a lot and had managed to scrape through by herself, refusing the help or pity of anyone else.

Santiago stood up and brushed out the crinkles in his brown jacket before heading over to the mantelpiece above the fire. He stayed with his back to the agents for a while, staring at a photo of his daughter.

He turned.

"Isabel," he smiled as he passed the photograph to Lisbon and Cho. Lisbon coughed to hide her shock at what Isabel looked like. Cho's mouth pressed into a hard line.

"She is… very pretty," Lisbon managed. "Would you excuse me? I must make a call."

"Of course," Santiago smiled at her and Lisbon swiftly exited the room and headed out the front door. She leaned against the cold brick wall of the house, finally able to breath properly again. Lisbon could still hear Cho and Santiago talking.

"She was an absolute gift," Santiago gushed. "When we found out Alison was unable to have children, we were so upset. Then we decided to try adoption, and we discovered this most beautiful, most angelic baby girl. It was a closed adoption, we never found out who the real parents were. Apparently she was left on the front steps of the orphanage in a basket, with ten thousand dollars and a note the only items with her. The note said that her name was Jane."

Lisbon dashed her hand across her eyes before the hot tears could overflow. She was angry at herself, she shouldn't be crying! It was impossible. The doctors had said it was a stillbirth. She remembered…

"_I'm so sorry for your loss," the doctor spoke in a quite undertone as Lisbon held her baby girl in her arms. She couldn't look as one of the nurses took away her other… baby. A baby she would never see grow up. She would never see her two girls together. _

"_A stillbirth," Jane spoke in a monotone, his voice horribly low. Tears streaked Lisbon's cheeks. Was it her fault? "How could something like this happen? What did you do?"_

_The doctor slipped out of the room, not wishing to be caught in the crossfire. Most parents were distraught after a miscarriage or a stillbirth and this was usual. At the beginning._

"_What did I do?" Lisbon asked disbelievingly. "What did _**I **_do? It's not my fault Patrick!"_

"_I can't stay here any longer," Jane opened the door and exited, leaving Lisbon crying quietly with her single baby girl in her arms, fast asleep._

"We had our hearts set on Isabel from the very beginning though, and so we gave her the middle name of Jane. Isabel Jane," Santiago continued and Lisbon couldn't help but listen. She took a deep breath and re-entered the house. "Isabel means God's promise. Very fitting, don't you agree?"

Lisbon stood in the doorway, keeping quiet. She could see the happy smile on the father's face as he remembered the joy of finding the daughter he had wished for. A dream come true, she thought wryly. For one side of the party anyway.

Cho noticed Lisbon silently standing, and he noted her red eyes and instantly understood. It seemed too much to be a coincidence.

Cho didn't believe in coincidences.

But just this once?

He sincerely wished he did.

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A/N: Yay Cho! I love Cho. Cho is just… awesome, I have to say. Well, I hope you enjoyed this instalment, and feedback is much appreciated!**_


	3. Picture

_**A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! Thanks to my amazing beta, tromana for beta-ing this chapter! I hope you enjoy it! **_

_**I do not own The Mentalist, but I do own Louise Lisbon, Isabel de Longoria, Reid, Felicity, Christian and any other OCs.**_

_**If you're wondering, I stole the name Christian from BBC Wales' awesome TV program **__Paradox, __**who is played by Emun Elliott. He is rather lovely :) Watch Paradox. It's amazing. Anyway, I'll stop babbling now.**_

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"I was, like, her best friend!" Felicity, the tall blond girl who kept moving closer to Rigsby, said exuberantly. Van Pelt stifled a chuckle as most of the other girls rolled their eyes.

"We all were," the more conservative Lexi added.

"Did she have a boyfriend?" Rigsby asked, and they noticed how the girls exchanged glances.

"She was dating an older guy," Lexi informed him finally. "His name was Anthony O'Neill."

"He was totally a bad boy," Felicity giggled and Rigsby glanced at Van Pelt. He hadn't realized quite how creepy some high school girls could be. Lexi glared at the blond and was about to say something when another of the cheerleaders interrupted.

"He wasn't all that bad, truly," a sweet looking red-head shook her head at Felicity's extremism. She looked up, and was the only one who had spoken so far who had directed her conversation to both Grace and Rigsby. "He was going back to school to get qualifications. Izzy had known him before – they lived close, I believe – and they got into a serious relationship when he returned to school."

Van Pelt smiled appreciatively at the soft spoken girl, who seemed much less extroverted than the other friends of Isabel's.

"Do you know if she received any bad news recently?" Van Pelt questioned them, thinking along the same lines that maybe Isabel de Longoria simply ran away. Often parents wouldn't believe that their children would run away from home and their brain skipped to the explanation they believed most feasible: kidnapping.

"Isabel was always really happy," Lexi smiled wryly, "she'd always be the one telling jokes and thinking up pranks."

The titian-haired girl – Reid, Van Pelt remembered her name as – glanced up with an odd expression on her face. "She wasn't so cheerful the last time I saw her. I don't know why, she wouldn't tell me. She said 'you'll find out soon enough.' I didn't know what she meant…"

Reid twisted her fingers together looking anxious and Felicity gave a gasp of surprise.

"You knew? Why didn't you stop her?" Felicity glared at the smaller girl with a look of distaste.

"I didn't know what she was going to do," Reid added sadly, "if I had known, I would have done something. Anything."

"You don't think she was kidnapped?" Van Pelt interrupted as Felicity opened her mouth to say something to Reid.

"Izzy was almost black belt in karate, there's no way someone could actually kidnap her without other people being alerted," Reid explained her reasoning.

"And the attacker having tons of broken bones," Lexi nodded along with Reid. Van Pelt raised her eyebrows. This girl sounded… different from the popular girls that had been at her school. The popular girls had been the really pretty airheads, whereas Isabel de Longoria was pretty, clever, skilled, sporty and popular. She broke the 'rules' that seemed to deign the high school hierarchy.

"Thanks for your assistance," Rigsby smiled at the girls and noticed Felicity fluttering her eyelashes. _Is there something in her eye? _He wondered as he stood up to leave. Van Pelt left before him so she could talk to the red haired girl for a little longer on her own. As he left the principal's office – it made him feel like he'd misbehaved – Felicity caught up with him.

"Excuse me?" her smile was quite sultry and Rigsby eyed her warily. She was slightly… weird.

"Yes?" he raised his eyebrows.

"You know that woman you work with? The red head?" Felicity gestured to Van Pelt and Rigsby nodded. Felicity leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially.

"I think she like… _fancies _you or something," Felicity laughed as if that was really odd and Rigsby glanced at her.

"I sure hope she does," he answered and Felicity looked confused, "she's my wife."

Rigsby walked off without another word, leaving the tall blond cheerleader looking after him with her mouth wide open in a round O. He caught up with Van Pelt as they both exited the school.

"Anymore from Reid?" he asked and Van Pelt shrugged.

"Just that she was good friends with Isabel as Reid moved from DC to here and Isabel was the only one who made friends with her," Grace explained. "Apparently the rest of the 'posse' doesn't like her, and it was basically Isabel who made them tolerate her."

Rigsby sighed and Van Pelt looked at him with a grin.

"So, what did Felicity want?" she smirked and Rigsby groaned as they reached the car.

"Apparently," he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "You fancy me."

Van Pelt burst out laughing and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Oh I do," she grinned, "oh I do."

They arrived back at the CBI headquarters just after seeing Cho and Lisbon arrive before them and they took the elevator to the bullpen.

"Good timing," Cho said as the pair walked into the bullpen.

"Where's the boss?" Grace looked around for Lisbon, who now spent most of her time in the bullpen with them than in her office.

"In her office," Cho answered her and a wry smile. "She's… a little affected by the case."

Rigsby looked confused. "Why?"

Before Cho could answer, Van Pelt spoke. "We saw a picture of Isabel, she looks like –"

"Louise," Cho finished, nodding. "And guess what her middle name is?"

Van Pelt and Rigsby looked blankly at him. "Lisbon?" Rigsby guessed and both Grace and Cho rolled their eyes.

"Jane," Cho replied and Van Pelt gaped.

This was a very interesting revelation. It could not just be a coincidence that this Isabel looked like Lisbon's daughter, was as clever as and as sporty as Lisbon's daughter and had the same name as Louise's father. No god could be that cruel, Van Pelt thought. _Or at least, they shouldn't._

Louise was packing away her books from her last lesson when her phone buzzed: she had a text.

_I'm sorry I can't pick you up today we got called out; get a ride with a classmate? Mom x_

Louise flipped her phone shut and sighed. She grabbed her bag and dashed out the classroom and collided with one of her classmates. She dropped her open bag and her books and folders fell out onto the floor.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed as the person she'd ran into clutched his nose.

"No worries," Christian glanced at his hand which now had blood on it.

"Oh my god, did I break your nose?" Louise looked freaked out as she picked up her things off the ground. Christian shook her head and she sighed with relief.

"I think your hairclip made it bleed," Christian laughed. "Now, why were you running helter skelter out of the classroom?"

Louise grinned apologetically. "To find you, actually."

"Well, you found me," Christian smiled at her, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his bruised nose.

"I was wondering if you could give me a ride home." Louise said, looking up at him hopefully. Christian grinned.

"How could I refuse a request from such a pretty girl?" He tousled her hair playfully and she hit him on the arm.

As they passed Christian's locker so he could collect his own bag, some of his friends noticed his bloody nose.

"Lou, did you hit him again?" Will, the quarterback of the football team grinned. The first time Louise had met Christian, he'd been with his mates and they had been hassling a girl in a wheelchair.

"_Aw, it's the little cripple," Christian taunted as his friends egged him on. "What shall we do? Down the bleachers?"_

_Louise narrowed her eyes and stormed up to him. _

"_Leave her alone!" She didn't shout, she didn't need to. Christian turned to her._

"_And who are you to tell me what to do?" He raised his eyebrows skeptically and smirked._

"_Why tell when you can do this," Louise smiled sweetly. A look of confusion crossed Christian's face, then one of surprise as he stumbled back from a hard blow from Louise's fist as it came into contact with his nose._

"_Shit," he swore._

"_It's not broken," Louise said confidently. Two of Christian's friends stepped forward to 'put her in her place' but Christian put up his hand to stop them._

"_I like this one," he grinned. "Feisty."_

Christian shut his locker and took hold of Louise's hand.

"Bye, guys," Louise smiled at Christian's friends, who now didn't consider her as an arch-enemy anymore. She'd been the person to make them realize that 'cripples' weren't bad people, and deserved help not hindrance. Christian chuckled as Will wolf-whistled from behind them.

Christian parked his black Volvo in the driveway that led up to the Lisbon house.

"You don't have to come in," Louise added but Christian smiled.

"I can't just leave you all alone," he grinned and she rolled her eyes as she left the car.

"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself," she answered assertively as she walked up to the front door. He chuckled softly and followed her.

"I know," he replied quietly as she unlocked the door and walked inside. As she closed the door behind him Louise eyed him oddly.

"Something to eat? Drink?" Louise asked and he shrugged.

"Whatever you're having," he agreed complacently. "Hey, you said you had that old TV that needed fixing?"

Louise nodded, remembering. Her mom had found an old black and white TV when they were spring cleaning the spare bedroom but they'd discovered that it didn't work. Lisbon had asked Louise if anyone at school knew how to fix it and when Louise had asked if Christian knew anyone he'd replied that actually he could probably fix it.

"It's in the loft," she answered. "You'll have to get a chair or something."

Christian shrugged. "Sure thing."

Louise headed to the kitchen and poured two glasses of Diet Coke and was just opening a packet of cookie when she heard Christian call.

"Louise!" she left the cookies on the table top and ran over to the loft. She leapt onto the chair and pulled herself up into the dark loft lit only by the light from the torch Christian held.

"Problem?" she asked quizzically but he shook his head.

"No, I was just wondering who was in this photo," he answered, passing her a photo in a frame and shining the torch on it.

"Well, that's mom," Louise pointed at Lisbon, who looked about fifteen or so years younger. She stared at the blond man standing next to her mom, with her arm around Lisbon's shoulders, his smile slightly crooked and a twinkle in his blue eyes. "And… I think that's my dad."

**To be continued…**

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A/N: Feedback would seriously be appreciated! I really need some enthusiasm nowadays, back to school soon… **_


	4. Fire

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I got… sidetracked. I made 142 icons instead. Heh. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

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Lisbon lifted her head from where she had been lying face down on her desk and groaned. She'd fallen asleep at her desk. What sort of boss _was _she if she was the one falling asleep at work? There was a sharp knock at her door.

"Come in," she said sleepily, yawning. She glanced at her clock: 6pm. Cho opened the door and entered her office.

"I was just going," Cho informed her. "Van Pelt and Rigsby just left. Are you coming?"

Lisbon rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I guess I should," she smiled wryly and Cho walked over and touched her shoulder gently.

"Today really got to you," Cho noted and Lisbon shrugged.

"I'm fine," she replied stubbornly which gave Cho his answer. Cho picked up her car keys from her desk.

"Come on," he added and she groaned as she got up. She hated any cases to do with children. Especially young children or teenagers. Lisbon grabbed her bag and pushed the files off her desk into her briefcase including her computer mouse, to Cho's amusement. He removed the mouse from her bag and put it back on her desk. "I don't think you need to take that home."

Cho walked over and held the door open for her and they headed to the elevators together.

As they walked out into the parking lot Cho passed her the car keys to her car that he had nabbed from her desk.

"You'll be needing these," he smiled and touched her shoulder in the gesture of a dear friend. "Take care."

Lisbon smiled wryly. "Don't I always?"

She opened her car door and stopped.

"Thank you," she added, before getting in and starting her car. Cho turned and headed for his own car as Lisbon sped away to her home.

Twenty minutes later Lisbon unlocked her front door and pushed it open.

"Lou, I'm home," she called out but received no answer. She tried again, but louder. "Lou?"

There was still no answer. Lisbon took off her coat and yawned; it had been a long day. Maybe Louise was asleep? It was only eight o'clock which was three hours before her daughter usually even went to bed, but stranger things had happened. Lisbon walked through into the living room and pulled off her shoes before she sat down on the couch.

She noticed a piece of paper on the coffee table and picked it up to read.

_Mom. I've gone to see a movie with __Christian; I'll be home before nine. –Louise._

That explained why Louise hadn't been home, Lisbon realized as she scrunched up the note to throw in the trash. Her forehead creased in confusion as she noticed what the note had been on top of. Lisbon picked up the photo frame and turned it over. Lisbon gasped as she saw who was in it.

"_Do we have to?" Jane complained as Van Pelt picked up the camera._

"_Yes you do," Van Pelt informed him in a 'no nonsense' voice. Jane groaned and Lisbon pulled him so he would be in the shot. _

"_Behave," Lisbon ordered him and glared at him. He smirked and pinched her butt which resulted in him getting a slap on the back of the head, much to Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt's amusement. Jane playfully tousled Lisbon's hair and kissed her cheek before grinning at the camera and pulling Lisbon tighter to his side._

Lisbon chuckled at the memories that came flooding back. Memories that she had done her best to forget. For ever. It had been easier to not remember the recollections of Jane that to remember. For years she had woken up every night having to stifle her screams because of dreadful nightmares so as not to wake her baby daughter.

Lisbon dashed her hand across her eyes as the hot tears pricked at eyes. She was not going to cry over _him. _Not again. He had caused her too much pain already and she would not cave to his actions. He was gone now and it was going to stay that way. He was gone. Forever.

Lisbon had just turned on her television when her phone rang. She muted the television and answered the call.

"Lisbon," she answered.

"Agent Lisbon, we need you at the de Longoria house," an unfamiliar voice said. "it seems that there has been a crime. Arson."

"And you are?" Lisbon checked their name.

"Agent Lamsley, ma'am," Lisbon was informed by the man.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Agent Lamsley," Lisbon replied as she ended the call, turned off the television set, grabbed her keys and dialled Louise's number: multi-tasking was her strong point. After all, she _was _a woman.

The disembodied and amazingly irritating voice of a woman spoke in Lisbon's ear. "The person you are calling is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone." Lisbon groaned. She should have remembered that Louise's phone would be off during the movie!

"Louise, it is mom. I've been called out to a crime scene; I don't know when I'll be back. Feel free to stay at Christian's just don't get to sleep too late, it's a school night! I love you." Lisbon left her message and ended the call. Some mothers wouldn't have let their teenage daughter sleep around at a sixteen year old boy's house, but Lisbon trusted her daughter and also knew Christian's puritanical parents. If anything happened, Christian would probably be disowned and sent to a British boot camp until he was fifty three.

Lisbon headed out of the house and unlocked her car. As she started her car she hit redial and put her phone on speaker.

"Agent Lamsley," she was greeted with the less than cheerful tone of the agent she had spoken to previously.

"I'm on my way," she informed him. "Fill me in."

Lisbon listened in complete silence to the slightly horrific report that she received from the agent, even though she could tell that he was trying to soften the blow. She felt terrible and guilty from her thoughts of Mrs de Longoria; she had thought the woman was an overreacting mother whereas she was just a worried mother and Lisbon realized that it was only her training that would make her not like the woman if she found Louise had been kidnapped. Or had run away.

Mrs de Longoria had been pronounced dead at the scene with first degree burns although the cause of death had been ruled asphyxiation by inhalation of carbon monoxide from the toxic smoke. Mr. de Longoria had been taken away in an ambulance with only second degree burns, but his chance of living was only a 33 percent expectation. It was a suspected arson, although they had no suspects at the current time.

Lisbon thought back to when she had been investigating the death of Stanley Brueno and a bomb had exploded in his house where she had been.

_Lisbon opened her eyes, feeling like someone had rubbed grit in them._

"_Where am I?" She asked blearily, squinting as the light hurt her eyes._

"_You're in hospital," Jane informed her as he brushed her hair out of her face. "You're going to be fine."_

"_I always am," Lisbon grinned and then winced as she began to feel the pain of the burns. Jane noticed and pressed a button on the side of the bed which injected Lisbon with the much needed painkillers. "Stay here, Patrick."_

"_I'm here," Jane answered, squeezing her hand gently._

"_Don't leave me," Lisbon spoke quietly as the painkillers began to take effect._

"_I won't," Jane promised. The last thing Lisbon felt was his lips press to her forehead and his last few words before she drifted into unconsciousness. "I'll be here for you Teresa. Forever and always."_

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A/N: Feedback would be great, thank you!**_


	5. Pain

_**A/N: Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter! I hope you enjoy reading this installment! Sorry for not updating promptly, but I'm back at school and have so many assignments. Enjoy!**_

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Lisbon arrived on the scene with dread in her heart and fear in her step. As she ducked under the crime scene tape she saw the body of Mrs. de Longoria – in a black body bag – being manhandled on a gurney into the coroner's van to be taken to autopsy.

"Agent Lisbon?" Lisbon heard the same voice she had heard over the phone: Agent Lamsley. She glanced at him and he walked over. "Crime scene's all yours."

"Thanks," Lisbon smiled wryly and walked inside. He trailed after her, wondering if he could be of any use.

As Lisbon entered the home the pungent smell of smoke hit her in the face and she grimaced.

"It's perfectly alright now," Agent Lamsley added, "nothing lethal. Not anymore."

_Because that makes me feel so much better, _Lisbon thought to herself sarcastically. She surveyed the room, a slight feeling of nausea threatening to overwhelm her.

"Arson?" she asked the other agent.

"Suspected so, yes ma'am," Agent Lamsley replied complacently, looking around sadly. He hated seeing cases like this, and this one was worse than the others, since the kid was missing too.

"Don't call me ma'am," Lisbon informed him, without turning around.

"Yes sir," Agent Lamsley said in such a deadpan way that he reminded her of Cho. Lisbon couldn't help smiling at his odd sense of humor.

"See?" Lisbon turned to him. "That wasn't so hard."

Agent Lamsley ducked his head as he smiled. Agent Lisbon was a good agent – her reputation preceded her – but she also seemed like a truly nice person. Some highly decorated agents or police officers became almost stuck up to the newer agents – like Agent Lamsley himself – but Agent Lisbon seemed perfectly compliant to being briefed by a probie agent.

Lisbon pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and hit speed dial 2.

"Yeah, Cho," she was greeted by the familiar voice of her friend and colleague.

"I need you at the de Longoria's house to process the scene," Lisbon informed him. "When you arrive Agent Lamsley will brief you."

"Alright," Cho answered, wondering where Lisbon was going.

"I'm going to see how the husband is doing," Lisbon answered his unasked question before ending the call and calling Rigsby.

"Yeah?" Rigsby picked up the phone.

"I need you and Grace at the de Longoria house to process the scene with Cho," Lisbon rattled off her order.

"Sure thing, boss," Rigsby answered and hung up.

Lisbon glanced over at Agent Lamsley who nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll look after your crime scene," he told her and she smiled appreciatively before turning on her heel and leaving the house.

Ten minutes later, she was circling the Petaluma Valley Hospital car park looking for a space to park. Eventually she found one, parked her car and headed inside the hospital.

"I'm looking for Santiago de Longoria," Lisbon informed the receptionist.

"I'm sorry ma'am, only relatives are allowed," the woman answered and Lisbon rolled her eyes and brought out her badge and showed it to the woman.

"CBI," Lisbon told her.

"Never heard of you," the woman asked and Lisbon sighed.

"California Bureau of Investigation," she replied. "Mr. de Longoria is a suspect in a homicide."

"Oh," the woman glared at Lisbon. "Fine. Room 363."

Lisbon smiled faux sweetly. "Thank you."

She headed for the elevator and pressed the button for floor three. The doors were just closing when Lisbon noticed a young boy in a wheelchair heading towards the elevator. She stuck her foot in the gap to stop the doors closing and the boy wheeled himself into the elevator.

"Gracias," he smiled up at her appreciatively.

"De nada," Lisbon replied. Finally the doors closed, and the elevator ascended to the third floor.

"I Miguel. You?" the boy spoke in broken English.

"Teresa Lisbon," Lisbon answered and the boy smiled.

"Like Saint Teresa?" he asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Sí," Lisbon smiled as she remembered that the newspapers had called her that too. The elevator doors opened onto the third floor and the boy wheeled himself out before turning and stopping.

"Muchas gracias, Santa Teresa," the boy looked up at her in admiration, before abruptly moving away and down the corridor. Lisbon looked up at the sign to see where she was supposed to be going. She headed down the corridor towards room 363 and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a rusty voice said, and Lisbon could hear that Santiago had suffered smoke inhalation. She pushed open the door and the sound of machines beeping came into her hearing.

"Mr. de Longoria," Lisbon began.

"Agent Lisbon," Santiago interrupted her, his rasping voice sounding painful. "Please, let me speak first."

Lisbon raised her eyebrows and leaned against the wall of the room and waited for him to begin again.

"The fire," he started. "It was arson. I should know."

Lisbon was slightly confused but didn't say anything.

"I started the fire. In the kitchen," he continued. "I was… angry at Ali. Furious. I… snapped. After she'd gone to bed I was so mad. I'm so sorry."

A tear slid down his cheek and Lisbon saw his wince as the salty moisture went into the burns on his face.

"She told Izzy that she was adopted," he added. "We'd agreed to tell her together but she just came out and told her. Right there. And then she kept going on and on about how Izzy had been kidnapped and ignoring the obvious. I guess I just blamed her. Agent Lisbon, please tell-"

His breathing became labored and his pupils dilated as he became unable to breath.

"I need a doctor! Help!" Lisbon yelled, and nurses rushed into the room. "Do something!"

Lisbon shook one of the nurses.

"Do something!" she exclaimed, wondering why the nurses were standing around awkwardly.

"I'm sorry ma'am. He's got a DNR," a nurse informed her, looking saddened. Lisbon opened her mouth and then shut it again.

_DNR, _Lisbon thought as his heart monitor flat lined. _Do Not Resuscitate. Shit._

Lisbon walked out of the room and leaned against the outside wall and closed her eyes.

She was startled when her cell rang.

"Lisbon," she said in a monotone.

"Boss, we've found Isabel," Rigsby's voice was no more cheerful than hers. "We need you boss. She's on the roof of the Best Western Petaluma Inn. She's going to jump, boss."

**TBC…**

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A/N: Feedback is much appreciated!**_


	6. Reunion

_**A/N: Sorry for not updating! Here is the final chapter…**_

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Lisbon sprinted up the steps to reach the roof but her way was blocked by two policemen who held her back.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, you can't go up there," one of them said. She glared at them and flashed her badge. The one who had denied her access opened his mouth again. "Oh."

Lisbon nodded and smiled innocently before walking smartly past the pair, who eyed each other.

"Boss," Rigsby hissed to her as she emerged onto the roof. Lisbon headed over to where Cho and Rigsby were standing. "Van Pelt is trying to get her to get away from the edge."

Lisbon nodded and walked slowly and quietly over to where Van Pelt was trying to coerce Isabel away from the precipitous roof edge.

"I'll take over here, Grace," Lisbon said softly, and Van Pelt nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Agent Lisbon would like to talk to you, Isabel," Van Pelt spoke to the distraught girl before moving away slightly, looking worried.

"Isabel, my name is Teresa," Lisbon began slowly, trying not to surprise or scare the girl.

"My parents are dead," Isabel whispered hoarsely, and it was obvious that she had been crying for a long time. "It's all my fault. My real parents never wanted me, and now I'm an orphan again for the second time."

It was like a blow to the stomach for Lisbon. "Your parents loved you, Izzy," she replied, dashing her hand across her eyes as tears threatened her steely persona, "your real parents, and your adoptive ones."

"How would you know?" Isabel asked in a tone that sounded as if she just wanted to be left alone. _Not surprising, _Lisbon thought to herself regretfully, _seeing as what she's been through. _

"Your real parents didn't give you away," Lisbon started, "you were taken from them, when you were only hours old. They never stopped loving you, Izzy."

Fresh tears slid down Isabel's cheeks, and anyone who could hear the conversation could feel their own hearts breaking too.

"How do you know all this, Agent Lisbon?" Isabel asked but Lisbon didn't reply.

"If you step away from the edge, I will tell you," Lisbon finally said. Isabel turned and looked at Lisbon and Lisbon's eyes widened. Isabel's foot slipped and a sound that sounded like a strangled cry emerged from her lips.

Lisbon leapt forward and caught hold of Isabel's arm. Her own arm felt like it was being slowly dislocated and she could feel herself being dragged towards the edge.

"I don't want to die," Isabel whispered to Lisbon. "Not any more."

"You're not going to," Lisbon said, trying not to let the fear and pain show in her voice. Suddenly, strong arms were around her waist, and Lisbon stretched out her other arm for Isabel to hold on to. The person behind her pulled her up and back on to the roof, before helping Izzy too. When the pair was safely back on the roof, the person pushed Lisbon down onto the roof before her legs gave out on her.

Lisbon looked up at the person who had saved them, and went to say thank you but her breath caught in her throat and she felt as if her throat was closing and no words emerged. She stared into the familiar eyes and could feel her steel mask fading away.

"Jane…" she whispered finally.

"Hello, Teresa," Jane spoke and smiled at her. Lisbon glared at him and moved away.

"Don't come near me," she growled, and he looked hurt. He knew he deserved it. Fifteen years later, and he came back into her life? To Lisbon it was unacceptable.

"Teresa, please," his eyes looked pleading, and Lisbon shook her head and she could feel hot tears welling in her eyes.

"No Jane," she refused, "I don't need you ruining my life again."

She stood up on unsteady legs and helped Isabel on to her feet.

"The medics will want to check you out," Lisbon informed Isabel as together they walked away from Jane, who watched as his second love left him standing alone. He noted the glares shot at him by Rigsby, Van Pelt and Cho.

He deserved it, though. _I really do._

Isabel was sitting on a gurney when Jane reached the groups of people in the car park.

"You said you'd explain," Isabel reminded Lisbon with the innocence of someone who doesn't expect what they're about to hear.

"It's a long story," Lisbon began. "But the short version? I… I'm your birth mother."

Isabel recoiled from the blunt way Lisbon phrased the revelation.

"That's how you knew everything," the girl realized. Lisbon nodded sadly.

"The doctors told me that you were stillborn," Lisbon added. "I don't know the truth about that."

"I do," a voice said from behind Lisbon, startling both of them.

"And is he…" Isabel's jaw dropped slightly.

"Yes," Lisbon answered the unfinished question. She turned to Jane with an unconcealed expression of hatred on her face. "What?"

"One of the nurses… Annabel her name was, I believe," Jane started.

"The one that was flirting with you," Lisbon remembered, narrowing her eyes at the man she hadn't seen for fifteen years.

"Yes," Jane replied. "I found out, a few years ago, that the stillborn baby had survived. Annabel had taken her."

"She was the one who said she was stillborn… the one who took my baby away!" Lisbon looked furious.

"She spoke to me, when I was leaving the hospital, and said that now we could be together. At the time, I didn't know what she meant. Now, I guess I do," Jane spoke regretfully. "I suppose she couldn't look after a baby."

"You still left me," Lisbon whispered hoarsely. "You still left me when I needed you the most."

"Teresa?" the voice of Isabel surprised Lisbon.

"Yes, Isabel?" Lisbon spoke, turning to the girl who had been through so much in just a few days.

"Can I go home?" Lisbon smiled slightly and nodded.

"Of course," she answered.

Three hours later, Lisbon heard the front door open and someone enter the house. Louise walked into the living room where both Lisbon and Isabel were sitting.

"Mom, I'm home…" she began, just before she caught sight of the stranger sitting with her mother. "Mom, who is she?"

"Louise, this is Isabel. Isabel, Louise," Lisbon introduced the sisters. Isabel stood up and surveyed Louise.

"You do look like me…" she said slowly. Louise glanced to Lisbon, thoroughly confused.

"Louise, Isabel is your sister," Lisbon said slowly, and watched as realization dawned on Louise.

"Why didn't I know?" Louise asked Lisbon who sighed.

"The truth is, I didn't either. I thought Isabel was stillborn, or at least that's what the doctors told me. I suppose she isn't," Lisbon smiled as the two girls stood face to face. The similarities were amazingly clear now they stood together.

"Well, this is going to make interesting conversation over dinner," a strange voice commented and all three women looked around as Jane emerged from the kitchen.

"_Lisbon," Lisbon answered her phone, keeping one hand on the steeling wheel._

"_Just hear me out," Jane spoke quickly, before she hung up on him. She sighed softly._

"_Fine," she replied. _

"_I messed up. Big time," Jane said. Lisbon wanted to agree with him, but stayed silent. "I would like another chance. For a family."_

"_Are you asking if I'll take you back?" Lisbon asked. _

"_Would you give me a second chance?" Jane questioned her._

"_I suppose I should," Lisbon conceded. "For my… our daughters. Come tonight. I think Louise would like to meet her father." _

Louise stared at the familiar man from the photograph. "Dad?"

**FIN.**

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A/N: Feedback is much appreciated!**_


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